The engaged action hypothesis: Explaining the merits of external focus cues

Abstract

The attentional focus effect—the theory that focusing on the body during skilled tasks leads to suboptimal results relative to focusing externally—is well established, but it is not known why it holds. The most widely cited explanation is the constrained action hypothesis: Focusing on the body interferes with beneficial automatic motor programs. We argue that increased automaticity may not be the sole or even primary explanation for the attentional focus effect and propose the engaged action hypothesis: An external focus prompts individuals to focus on the task at hand and engage and coordinate relevant muscle groups.